Leitch Olivia, Papanicolaou Alexie, Lennard Chris, Kirkbride K Paul, Anderson Alisha
National Centre for Forensic Studies, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australia.
CSIRO Division of Ecosystem Sciences and Food Futures Flagship, Canberra, Australia.
BMC Genomics. 2015 Mar 31;16(1):255. doi: 10.1186/s12864-015-1466-8.
Blowflies have relevance in areas of forensic science, agriculture, and medicine, primarily due to the ability of their larvae to develop on flesh. While it is widely accepted that blowflies rely heavily on olfaction for identifying and locating hosts, there is limited research regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms. Using next generation sequencing (Illumina), this research examined the antennal transcriptome of Calliphora stygia (Fabricius) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) to identify members of the major chemosensory gene families necessary for olfaction.
Representative proteins from all chemosensory gene families essential in insect olfaction were identified in the antennae of the blowfly C. stygia, including 50 odorant receptors, 22 ionotropic receptors, 21 gustatory receptors, 28 odorant binding proteins, 4 chemosensory proteins, and 3 sensory neuron membrane proteins. A total of 97 candidate cytochrome P450s and 39 esterases, some of which may act as odorant degrading enzymes, were also identified. Importantly, co-receptors necessary for the proper function of ligand-binding receptors were identified. Putative orthologues for the conserved antennal ionotropic receptors and candidate gustatory receptors for carbon dioxide detection were also amongst the identified proteins.
This research provides a comprehensive novel resource that will be fundamental for future studies regarding blowfly olfaction. Such information presents potential benefits to the forensic, pest control, and medical areas, and could assist in the understanding of insecticide resistance and targeted control through cross-species comparisons.
丽蝇在法医学、农业和医学领域具有重要意义，主要是因为其幼虫能够在腐肉上发育。虽然人们普遍认为丽蝇在很大程度上依赖嗅觉来识别和定位宿主，但关于其潜在分子机制的研究却很有限。本研究利用下一代测序技术（Illumina）检测了Stygia丽蝇（Fabricius）（双翅目：丽蝇科）的触角转录组，以鉴定嗅觉所需的主要化学感应基因家族的成员。
在Stygia丽蝇的触角中鉴定出了昆虫嗅觉中所有必需化学感应基因家族的代表性蛋白质，包括50种气味受体、22种离子型受体、21种味觉受体、28种气味结合蛋白、4种化学感应蛋白和3种感觉神经元膜蛋白。还鉴定出了总共97种候选细胞色素P450和39种酯酶，其中一些可能作为气味降解酶。重要的是，鉴定出了配体结合受体正常功能所需的共同受体。已鉴定的蛋白质中还包括保守的触角离子型受体的推定直系同源物和用于检测二氧化碳的候选味觉受体。
本研究提供了一个全面的新资源，这将是未来丽蝇嗅觉研究的基础。这些信息对法医、害虫防治和医学领域具有潜在益处，并有助于通过跨物种比较理解杀虫剂抗性和靶向控制。
